TinyURL is a site that lets you take a very long URL and shorten it. Why would internet marketers need to know about this?
Reasons for using TinyURL
- Create a shorter url link for use in a microblogging site that has post length limitations
- Keeping your URL secret
Some internet marketers use this tool to mask their affiliate links. This can be effective but some say that it’s really not as effective as doing a URL redirect which makes the URL appear more like a link within your own website. It’s definitely a great fast fix for it. Some say that Google will penalize your site if it sees too many affiliate links and using url shortening tools like this one can fool search engine spiders because they can’t immediately see what you’re linking to.
If you’re using this tool often, you can add it to your toolbar so you can make urls on the fly and you can also make custom urls as well (pending availability of a particular word / phrase).
The downsides to using TinyURL
It’s a good idea to be careful if you’re linking to a Tinyurl when you aren’t seeing it on a site you already know is trusted. Some people might not click it if they’re not sure where they’re being sent to. Some say that you shouldn’t't use these tools because if they ever disappear you’ll have a lot of dead links. The fact is that this site boasts over 1.5 billion hits per month so it does appear that it’s a safe bet that it isn’t going anywhere any time soon.
Spammers should be aware that TinyURL will disable links if your link is reported as Spam.
About Sean Rasmussen
Hi Sean,
I don’t use TinyUrl. I’ve always used Bit.ly. Is TinyUrl a better choice for me to use? Or do they both do pretty much the same thing?
Jazz stick with Bitly.
Bitly has some tools that Tinyurl doesn’t have. There is another post about Bitly that explains it. It can do more than I thought. I was just happy to be able to see the stats but there is more to it.
Hi Sean,
I once used TinyURl only until bit.ly came along and has stats with it as well, as an added feature. Both sites are very handy especially for cloaking Affiliate links.
Twitter shortens our URL’s with bit.ly and it’s a handy tool. Best thing is that they are both free tools to use for I.M.
G’day Sean,
Started using tinyurl when I first read the 2008 Year Of The Affiliate, and loved it because it was in your words the way to cloak my affiliate links. I recently SHRUNK a 97 character URL to a mere 26 characters. Not Bad, eh ? Check this out. http://tinyurl.com/2adnzr7
I use TinyURL when I friend someone on FB to offer them either SLOA or Mindset Mastery as a freebie – or is it a bribe ?
Currently I alternate between them for no special reason. Noted Gee’s remarks above and will investigate – Thanks Gee.
Cheers
Harry
PS a typo 4 lines up from the last sentence ” SHOULDN’T\'T ” with 2 ” T ” s
Thanks for spotting the typo Harry, I’ll get it fixed as soon as I can! As Gee says, bit.ly is another great service you may want to check out